Whispering Train Plan: Canberra At 550km/h
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday May 13, 1996
An international corporation is promising a "Whispering Arrow" train to rocket passengers on a magnetic cushion between Sydney and Canberra in less than an hour.
Transrapid International proposes to use new technology, developed in Germany, to propel the train at up to 550 km/h.
The proposal puts Transrapid in competition with the Speedrail consortium, which wants to use French-designed TGV technology to run a very fast train between Sydney and Canberra.
Speedrail's proposal has been under examination for months by the NSW, ACT and Federal governments, which are due to bring down a report within a few weeks.
The Federal Minister for Transport, Mr Sharp, said yesterday that the Transrapid plan had emerged "a bit late in the day". However, he said it was not too late and the governments would still have time to consider the Transrapid scheme before a final decision was made.
Transrapid International is a consortium of three German companies: ADtranz (ADB Daimler-Benz Transportation), Siemens and Thyssen Industries.
Its Australian representative, the Canberra consultancy Forbes, Mason and Brennan, described the Transrapid Superspeed MagLev train as the world's fastest and most advanced.
It is very quiet because it does not use wheels on rails. It floats above a single rail using magnetic levitation, is impossible to derail and climbs over hilly terrain instead of carving through it with cuttings and tunnels.
© 1996 Sydney Morning Herald